Review: `Blood Gospel' is supernatural thriller

Sunday

Jan 20, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By JEFF AYERSAssociated Press

"The Blood Gospel" (William Morrow), by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell

James Rollins, king of the action-adventure thriller, and award-winning novelist Rebecca Cantrell, author of four Hannah Vogel mysteries set in pre-World War II Nazi Germany, combine their talents and create a supernatural page turner in "The Blood Gospel."

Fans will discover a storytelling voice vastly different from the authors' individual novels. Rollins uses science and history to deepen the suspense in his books. Cantrell's stories ooze atmosphere, transporting the reader into a vivid world as if being transported back in time. Together they have introduced a series that will certainly create as much debate and scrutiny as Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code."

Dr. Erin Granger and her team are examining an archaeological dig in Caesarea, Israel, when she's asked to assist in Masada. A hidden tomb has been uncovered in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. A deadly gas was released during the quake, and the sole survivor is shocked to discover that his cancer-ridden body is now disease-free.

Granger teams up with a military forensic expert and a Vatican priest to examine the tomb. While unearthing a sarcophagus, the team is attacked by strange creatures.

"The Blood Gospel" is a combination of religious conspiracy and another popular genre, and to reveal more about the concept behind this engaging novel would be a crime.